STATUES

06 Feb 2014

In our school, we used to play a game called statue. When you meet a pal for the first time in a day, you shout out "statue" pointing your fore and middle fingers at him and he has to "freeze" till you tell him to unfreeze. If he shouts "statue" first,  it is you have who has to freeze and unfreeze likewise. I still do not know the purpose of the game or what pleasure we used to derive out of it. But this was a routine between friends. Today morning when I heard of the statue of Shivaji being erected at a cost of Rs 100 crores to beat the Rs 2400 crore Patel statue in Gujarat, I was reminded of our childhood game. I tried to fathom the purpose of the statue game of the older people and to find out what pleasure they derive out of it.

For Hindus at least, statues have always been a symbol for worship. While the North Indians and colourful statues of Gods resembling ordinary men and women but with colours like blue, black, white depending on some stories in the epics or as per the imagination of the sculptor, the Southies seem to have preferred black stone statues with shapes exaggerating some of the body parts like eyes, bosom, nose etc. We worship these statues made of earthy materials like stones, metals, alloys, clay. For the temporary icons we made them out of synthetic materials like plaster of paris, painted them in horrid colours and immersed them after a few days in the sea or other water bodies. Everyone plays a part in polluting our environment. Christians too have a liking for statues of Jesus, Mary inside their churches and roadside altars and burning candles in front of them was manadatory to rid oneself of one's sins. I appreciate Islam in the matter. Muslims' God has no identifiable shape or size. The Islamic concept of God  more reflects the one God (Aham Brahmasmi, tat thwam asi)) depicted in the Hindu epics and the Chinese philosophy (Yin-Yang). My competence to dwelve on such religious philosophy ends here. My aim was to demonstrate our need for statues to satisfy our inner longings and beliefs.

The issue under discussion is about statues of Patel and Shivaji to be erected at enormous costs, mostly using public money which basically means the taxes you and I could not avoid paying. It might be argued that the cost is funded by contributions. Who would make such contribution? People who are willing to let go money (of whatever colour) from their wallet in exchange of some benefits in future-in cash or kind.

My earliest memory of a statue was the one in a forlorn corner of our school compound. We used to stand behind its shade to protect us from the evening sun when others were playing football. I did not bother to find out whose statue it was. I still do not know, nor do I care. But I do believe that if it were a tree instead of a statue, it would have grown into a mighty old one offering shelter to many birds, insects, and children and oxygen to the people around, unless it had been felled to construct a shopping complex or a stadium.

Coming back to the modern day statues. Probably it was the British who institutionalized the idea of setting up statues of mortals. I have seen many statues of many of the invaders on horsebacks along the beaches and roads of Chennai. Many of them had not got washed after the last rains. The little sparrows used the tall statues for dropping youknowwhat! The kazhagams perpetuated the practice by installing the statues of the likes of Thiruvalluvar, Annadurai et al. No doubt they were great men, but locking them up in stone or metal  on a pedestal with a quote or two inscribed, behind barbed wires was something I could never digest. The money could have been better-spent on printing their works and distributing them free to the schools. The statue of poet Kumaran Asan in front of the Kerala University building was one of ridicule to us, students. The campus talk was that the gesture depicted in the statue was either obscene or the fingers pointed at the despicable state of mismanagement at the University. Even the awesome marble statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington DC did nothing to augment my regard for the great man. Coming back home, do the awful statues of leaders like Karunakaran (a joke is going around that it looks more like his non-existent illegitimate step brother) and Krishna Pillai instill any love or reverence? The ultimate fate of the Buddha statues of Bamiyan and that of Saddam Hussain in Baghdad is well-known. I would rather go and enjoy the Yakshi scuplture at Shankhumughom or the nameless structure in front of GCDA.

Can a country like India afford to put up statues of the likes of Kanshi Rams, Mayawatis wasting public revenue? What purpose do they serve? Will anyone tell Modi and Chavan to drop the idea of statues of Patel and Shivaji and construct homes for the aged and the destitute in their place? If they show the courage to do that, the sensible Indian public will contribute many crores to fund such causes. History will any way bring down the statues at some time and if at all there are any political gains for the erectors they too will be short-lived!